Family Medicine Diversity & Anti-Racism Committee
Our Aims
Faculty Co-Chairs
Akbar Rahman, M.D., M.P.H.
Associate Clinical Professor
I was born & raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. My father immigrated to the US from Pakistan as a teenager (as a young child, he was a refugee from India to Pakistan). My mother grew up in Los Angeles in a family of Spanish descent. Before medicine, I spent over two years working in rural Tanzania. In medical school in Chicago, I was active with my SNMA chapter. Clinically, I have worked with populations in Long Beach, Compton, Los Angeles, South Africa, Guatemala, and Haiti. At UC San Diego (UCSD), I have provided primary care to homeless patients at St. Vincent de Paul Village Health Center, and I continue to provide hospital care to patients at UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest.
Resident Leads
Rahil Hudda, D.O., M.P.H.
Resident Lead for Graduate Medical Education Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Committee
I was born in the Bay Area, California to two Pakistani immigrants. Throughout my educational journey I have partaken in multiple South Asian cultural organizations to further explore my identity as a Pakistani Muslim American. After college I spent a year working at a non-profit HIV agency in Los Angeles along with conducting research on sexual/gender minority groups. My interests in medicine are providing care to all sexual/gender minority groups, including HIV treatment/prevent and gender-affirming care, along with general primary care, procedural medicine, and sports medicine.
Edgar Geronimo Yap Junior, MD, MA
Edgar (he/him) is a second-generation Filipino-American excited to join the Diversity committee's leadership. He brings his diverse experiences growing up around California and living in Kuwait to his work and passions. At UC Berkeley, he worked with youth from low-income backgrounds to empower and retain them in higher education. He entered medical school knowing he wanted to do primary care and fell in love with Family Medicine. During this time, he was the president of the Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association, Midwest Co-Chair of the Council of Young Filipinx Americans in Medicine, and a member of the First-Generation Low-Income Committee. His passions include immigrant health, advocacy for the Filipino-American community, medical education, community collaborations, and anything and everything we do in Family Medicine. He is excited and humbled to be part of the Diversity committee this year, hoping to foster community, growth, advocacy, and empathy in the UCSD Family Medicine Residency Program.
Diversity Curriculum
Lectures & Presentation Topics
- Race in Medicine
- Implicit Bias in Healthcare
- Microaggression in Healthcare
- Health Disparities in Women
- Border Healthcare
- Immigrant, Refugee, Asylee Healthcare
- Asian American Healthcare Disparities
- LGBTQ Healthcare
- Caring for Deaf Patients
- Advocacy
Workshops & Activities
- Annual Cross-Cultural Workshops with local residencies
- Journal Clubs regarding Healthcare Disparities
- Documentary Discussions
- Museum Tours
- Human Trafficking Awareness
Scholarly Work
- Engelberg M, Nakaji MC, Harry KM, Wang RM, Kennedy A, Pan T, Sanchez T, Sadler GR. Promotion of Healthy Humor Cancer Education Messages for the Deaf Community. J Cancer Educ. 2019;34(2):323-328. doi:10.1007/s13187-017-1305-5
- Soltani, M., Lindeman, K. Want Change Not Coins. Acad Psychiatry 42, 729–730 (2018).
- Smith S, Malinak D, Chang J, Perez M, Perez S, Settlecowski E, Rodriggs T, Hsu M, Abrew A, Aedo S. Implementation of a Food Insecurity Screening and Referral Program in Student-Run Free Clinics in San Diego, California. Prev Med Rep. 2017 Mar; 5: 134-139.
- Soltani M, Smith S, Beck E, Johnson M. Universal Depression Screening, Diagnosis, Management, and Outcomes at a Student-Run Free Clinic. Acad Psychiatry. 2014 Dec 10.
- Smith S, Thomas R, Cruz M, Griggs R, Moscato B, Ferrara A. Presence and characteristics of student-run free clinics in medical schools. JAMA. 2014 Dec 10;312(22):2407-10
- Smith SD, Yoon R, Johnson ML, Natarajan L, Beck E. The Effect of Involvement in a Student-Run Free Clinic Project on Attitudes Toward the Underserved and Interest in Primary Care. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2014 May;25(2):877-89.
- Smith SD, Marrone L, Gomez A, Johnson ML, Edland SD, Beck E. Clinical Outcomes of Diabetic Patients at a Student-Run Free Clinic Project. Fam Med. 2014 Mar;46(3):198-203.
- Oser R, Beck E, Alvarado J.L., Pang V.O. School and Community Wellness: Transforming Achievement Using a Holistic Orientation to Learning. Multicultural Perspectives 02/2014; 16(1)
- Chen W, Smith SD, Johnson ML, Natarajan L, Robillos E, Beck E. Measuring the Overall Quality of Well-Being of Patients at Student-Run Free Clinics. Abstract published in Proceedings of the 2013 Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) Conference on Medical Student Education. Teaching and Learning in Medicine. 2014;26(2);196-203.
- Smith S, Johnson M, Rodriguez N, Moutier C, Beck E. Medical Student Perceptions of the Educational Value of a Student-Run Free Clinic. Family Medicine, Oct. 2012, Volume 44. No. 9, pages 646-649.
- Wang RM, Aldridge AA, Malcarne VL, Choe S, Branz P, Sadler GR. Health locus of control and assimilation of cervical cancer information in Deaf women. J Cancer Educ. 2010;25(3):354-359. doi:10.1007/s13187-010-0053-6
- Choe S, Lim RS, Clark K, Wang RM, Branz P, Sadler GR. The impact of cervical cancer education for deaf women using a video educational tool employing American sign language, open captioning, and graphics. J Cancer Educ. 2009;24(1):10-15. doi:10.1080/08858190802665245
- Beck E; Wingard D, Zúñiga ML; Heifetz R Gilbreath S. Academic Medicine: Addressing the Health Needs of the Underserved: A National Faculty Development Program. Volume 83 (11) November 2008 pp 1094-1102.
- Wortis N, Beck E, Donsky J. Health and the Community. Book Chapter in Medical Management of Vulnerable and Underserved Patients. Principles, Practice and Populations, McGraw Hill, Lange: 2006, pages 159-165. (no copy online found)
- The UCSD Student-Run Free Clinic Project: Transdisciplinary Health Professional Education. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Undeserved, Volume 16, Number 2, May 2005, pages 207-219. Beck, E.
- O'Connor S, Ganiats T, Beck E, Kaplan R. Quality of Life in a Free Clinic. Abstract -Quality of Life Research, Springer Volume 12, Issue 7, 2003
- Norcross WA, Ramirez C, Palinkas LA: The influence of women on the healthcare-seeking behavior of men. J Fam Pract 1996;43:475.
- Norcross WA, Johnson B, Ganiats T, Siedler S: Urinary gnathostomiasis in a Laotian refugee. J Am Board Fam Pract 1992: 5(5):533.
- Newman V, Norcross WA, McDonald R: Nutrient intake of low-income Southeast Asian pregnant women. J Am Diet Assoc 1991; 91:793.
- Lerman D, Barrett-Connor E, Norcross WA: Screening for intestinal parasites in asymptomatic Southeast Asian immigrants. J Fam Prac 1982; 15(3):443.
- Norcross WA, Wise E, Simms GR, Nidorf J, Thong M, Schneiderman LJ: Fatal Oriental cholangiohepatitis in a member of the Hmong community. J Fam Prac 1981; 12:909.
- Hoffman SL, Barrett-Connor E, Norcross WA, Nguyen D: Intestinal parasites in Indochinese immigrants. J Trop Med Hyg 1981; 30:348.
Presentations
- “Race in Medicine, Implicit Bias, and Microaggressions.” San Diego Academy of Family Physicians’ All Member Meeting: ‘Anti-Racism- Promoting Equity and Inclusion’ (February 2021) - Akbar Rahman MD MPH, Regina Wang MD
- “Human Trafficking Education for Healthcare Workers.” The Chadwick Center’s Annual San Diego International Conference of Child and Family Maltreatment (January 2021) - Regina Wang MD, Mary Gamboa
- American Heart Association Mandarin-speaking physician panel on Covid-19 streamed live on zoom across the Western Region states (April 2020) and then broadcasted on television (May 2020) - Regina Wang MD
- “Launching a Global Health Rotation in Jordan: Challenges & Lessons Learned.” American Academy of Family Medicine Global Health Summit (October 2019) – Akbar Rahman MD, MPH
- “Practicing Global Health in Your Own Backyard” American Academy of Family Physicians Global Health Summit (October 2019) - Regina Wang MD, Leopoldine Matialeu MD
- UC San Diego Health’s N=1 Podcast on Human Trafficking (January 2018) - Regina Wang MD, Sarah Williamson RN, Karen Mitchell-Keels RN
- “Healthcare Disparities in Primary Care Among Asian Americans” Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association National Conference (September 2014) - Regina Wang, MD
- “A Generation Lost – Women with HIV in South Africa” AAFP Global Health Workshop (September 2014) - Regina Wang MD, Akbar Rahman MD, MPH
- “The African Family Physician” AAFP Global Health Workshop (September 2014) - Akbar Rahman MD, MPH, Regina Wang MD
- “Developing Strategies to Reach the Deaf Community with Health Information: The Cervical Cancer Education Program.” American Association for Cancer Education’s Annual Meeting (October 2006) - Regina Wang, MD
Posters
- “Assessing Resident Perception of Diversity Climate in a Family Medicine Residency Program.” American Academy of Family Physicians Program Director Workshop (April 2021) - Leopoldine Matialeu MD, Akbar Rahman MD MPH, Erica Chan, Regina Wang MD
- “Assessing Physicians’ Perception of Patients and Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder.” California Society of Addiction Medicine annual conference (September 2020) - Regina Wang MD, Mariel Janowsky MD MPH, Leopoldine Matialeu MD
- “Physician and Medical Student Knowledge of Human Trafficking in San Diego” International Summit of Violence, Abuse, and Trauma Across the Lifespan (September 2020) - Mary Gamboa BS, Regina Wang MD
- “Primary Care Physicians Can Treat Addiction Too: Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) Training in an Addiction Medicine Curriculum” PDW and RPS Residency Education Symposium (April 2020) - Regina Wang MD, Mariel Janowsky MD, MPH, Kanwardeep Kaleka MD, PhD, Akbar Rahman MD, MPH
- “Addiction Medicine for UC San Diego Family Medicine Present and Future” California Society of Addiction Medicine conference (September 2019) - Kanwardeep Kaleka MD PhD, Mariel Janowsky MD MPH, Akbar Rahman MD MPH, Regina Wang MD
- “Improving Patient Care: The Implementation of a Diversity Curriculum” PDW and RPS Residency Education Symposium (April 2019) - Regina Wang MD, Maikha Jean-Baptiste MD, Jean-Pierre Valette MD, Akbar Rahman MD, MPH
- “Integrative Approach to a Community Health Fair.” UC San Diego Public Health Day (April 2019) - Jennifer Chronis MD, Deepa Sannidhi MD
- “Jordan: Introducing Residents to Global Mental Health.” American Academy of Family Medicine Global Health Summit (September 2018) - Akbar Rahman MD, MPH
- “Ecuador: A Global Health Perspective on Integrative Medicine” American Academy of Family Physicians Global Health Summit (September 2018) - Regina Wang MD.
Community Work & Outreach
We partner with outside organizations to help them meet their missions and help educate our trainees.
- UC San Diego Student-Run Free Clinic
"In partnership with the community, provides respectful, empowering, high quality health care for the underserved while inspiring the next generation of health professionals." - International Health Collective
A non-profit student-run organization that aims to solve health disparities in Eastern Tijuana and San Diego communities. International Health Collective, or IHC, takes on this issue through a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach. They hold a firm belief that it takes a wide lens and a diverse skill set to examine and alleviate root causes to health issues, IHC members originate from different backgrounds and fields of expertise. Specifically, IHC consists of UCSD undergraduate students (medical, engineering, humanities etc.), medical and pharmacy graduate students, health professionals, and community members. Members work towards disentangling the complex relationship between structural barriers and health disparity on a global scale.
Resources
Report an Incident
There are two UCSD mechanisms if you would like to report an event:
- Visit Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination (OPHD) and make a report here.
- Confidentially speak with an Ombudsman (858-534-0777). The Office of the Ombuds does not have an obligation to report an incident, but can make suggestions on ways to facilitate change.